LESSONS
———-
As much as possible: A fortuitous encounter on a sweltering night one summer. In Berlin. A singing and song writing singer/songwriter, two quirky nerds from Finland. Two or three creative crises, hiatus in Buenos Aires. Internet, an unclear pile of analogue synths and – or course – a windowless basement somewhere in Scandinavia. Here’s Lessons.
In search for inspiration and fresh air the brothers Samu and Ville Kuukka pause their productions and go to Berlin. The film composers work on their own Ambient/Postrock band The Gentleman Losers and wanted to take a break. They stumble into a concert of Montauk, one of the many aliases of Patrick Sudarski, musician, aesthete and jack of all trades. Sudarski already used to pierce holes into the membranes between noise, kraut, folk and shoegaze with his earlier bands Speed Mountain, A Heart Is An Airport or Palestar. They get into conversation, exchange ideas, but lose each other. When the three take up the thread again, both Kuukkas are back in Helsinki while Sudarski takes his mind off things in South America.
The following winter the three of them spend together in a cheerless basement room without windows yet overflowing of adventurously antiquated drum machines and clunky synthesizers. The introspective approach all three used to follow is turned inside out completely. The specific atmosphere of the room might have played a role. The music becomes loud, scratchy and driving. It is subcooled and distanced as well as brimmed with the absence of daylight. But above all it breathes deeply, confronts midi clock with heartbeat and in that moment noticeably hails from real human beings. Even if they blur in the twilight.
“It was time for a new thing, for all of us”, says Sudarski. “This was a natural progression.”

YEAH BUT NO
—————
Merging electronic music with classic song structures into a smart and captivating listening enjoyment. That’s Yeah But No’s objective. The duo from Berlin is comprised of techno producer Douglas Greed and singer Fabian Kuss. The former made a name for himself in the techno scene and recently released an album together with Mooryc with their mutual project Eating Snow. Meanwhile Kuss gained experiences in all imaginable styles of music.
The two get to know each other four years ago when Greed was looking for a singer for his tracks. Tasteful success label Freude am Tanzen releases his music during that time and he tours through Europe, plays in Mexico and Australia. In Fabian Kuss he finds the matching counterpart. Not only has he studied voice but also stood on stages all across the country and explored musical styles from jazz to funk and pop with his bands.
After one hundred gigs in national and international clubs and on festivals as well as the release of a dozen of tracks together – among others on BPitch Control, Noir and Cocoon Records – both decide to let the project grow into a band and start writing tracks together.
This is how Yeah But No is born. “Hold It All Back” offers a first glimpse. The debut album will be out in autumn 2017.

HAYUNG
———
Hayung are a new arrival on the scene. They have named their style Doubtstep and you’ll hear that in their minimalist pop songs, music for melancholy doubters and audiophiles alike. Currently, they are writing on their debut and offer a peak into their still evolving songs.